And here comes another instance of controversial umpiring. José Caballero had already drawn league scrutiny for his pitch-clock routine, and during the Pittsburgh Pirates matchup earlier in the week, it became the focus of a bench-clearing incident. This time, though, the New York Yankees shortstop was left shaking his head in disbelief once again after another controversial ruling at Citizens Bank Park. While Caballero didn’t say anything at the moment, the broadcaster certainly had a few choice words.

“This is weird,” the Yankees broadcaster said, as per Talkin’ Yanks on X. “Because it happened so fast, I don’t think he had the wherewithal to just drop the ball on purpose. I mean, that’s a horrible call.”

The Yankees were 1-1 against the Philadelphia Phillies in the fourth when Ryan Weathers was on the mound with one out in the inning and two runners on the bases. Bryson Stott hit a line drive off Weathers’ sinker, and it went straight toward Caballero at shortstop.

While he was able to stop the ball, the 29-year-old couldn’t field it cleanly. However, he recovered quickly after a single bobble and ran to second base to prevent the runners from advancing. Much to everyone’s surprise, Brennan Miller ruled that the shortstop had intentionally dropped the ball.

Though it was unclear exactly what the second base umpire said, he probably saw it as an attempt to make a double play and wrap up the inning. Hence, he instructed the runners to remain on their original bases. 

“I was very surprised,” Caballero said after the game. “They really think highly of me: I can catch the ball, drop the ball, and catch the bounce in one motion.”

And while manager Aaron Boone termed it a “missed call,” he had no issue accepting the umpire’s ruling. 

But fans of Caballero were certainly not happy.

Many claimed that the umpires were intentionally targeting him.

During Wednesday’s game against the Pirates, when reliever Carmen Mlodzinski finished the at-bat by striking Caballero out, the situation escalated immediately after the shortstop was assessed a pitch-clock violation. Soon enough, both Caballero and his manager engaged in a heated discussion with the umpire.

When home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott explained that he could no longer “do the 3 or 4 seconds in the box anymore,” Caballero appeared taken aback. Microphones also caught him accusing the umpires of “picking” on him. The club even claimed that it had not been informed in advance that Caballero could not follow his usual routine.

“It’s not allowed anymore,” crew chief Adrian Johnson explained, per The Athletic. “It was the cause of a benches-clearing situation on Monday night. Major League Baseball stepped in. They want it enforced.”

He had done the same thing with Dennis Santana, which eventually frustrated the Pirates reliever and ended in a bench-clearing incident. However, batters only need to be ready by the eight-second mark on the pitch clock. Yet Caballero was still called for a pitch-clock violation despite appearing to comply with the rule.

That’s why the decisions from the umpires have drawn significant criticism from the baseball community, and Saturday’s ruling was one of the most unprecedented ones.